Leaving The Nest

I often wonder what it will be like once the boys leave home. Not just for how I would feel once they have left the nest but I wonder how they will feel & how they will cope being out on their own.

I remember what it was like once I finally left Mum & Dad's place. I had just finished college & had been out in the workplace for a year. I always said that I have it so good at home that I never want to leave. Then one day Mum said, "You're moving out by the time you're 24!" I thought NOOOO! But once I thought about a little more seriously I came to realise hey I can do it.

Mum & I had been collecting things for years for when I move out of home. You know the old 'glory' box that a girl is meant to collect & keep things in. I had a lot of household things that I needed for my own home. Once I made up my mind & with the help of my girlfriend, Denise, I bought a few more things to stash in Mum & Dad's garage.

A month or so after my 22nd birthday and with my new "P" plates & car I moved out of home. Now most kids, I assume, when they move out only got a few suburbs or so away from their parents but not me. I moved 400 km away to Whyalla. Not the best place in the world but I had family there (my niece, an Auntie & Uncle & my cousins) & the prospect of working in the schools there was good in my books. Even the possibility of permanent work was tempting enough. Not many people would willingly move there. Well I never thought that they would but I moved so...

I lived with my Auntie Ce & Uncle Ivor for about a month while I waited for my Housing Trust application & a home of my own. Once I got my 'house' Mum, Dad & my sister Vicki's boyfriend brought my gear up from Adelaide. I think Dad was very grateful to get his garage back!

Even though I moved so far away I think in some ways it brought me closer to Mum. I was often on the phone to her asking all sorts of stuff. Like the first time I cooked my a roast lamb. I had no idea how to make the roast potatoes as crispy as she did. You know come to think of it my phone bills were pretty big for a while & she got a lot of letters from me too. We certainly kept the postie busy.

I wonder if the boys will keep in contact with me as much as I did with my Mum. I'm kind of hoping they will.

Part of a Family History Challenge from DesignZ by DeDe